State Capitol Notebook: Obama phone call gets Illinois Senate moving

Hats off to Barack Obama. He may rarely be around Springfield, but he has plenty of sway at the Statehouse.

Play of the Week

Hats off to Barack Obama. He may rarely be around Springfield, but he has plenty of sway at the Statehouse.

Lawmakers were at loggerheads over ethics reform. The House had approved a ban on political donations by large-dollar state contractors, but the Senate wasn’t budging on not convening right away.

Then Obama phoned his mentor, Senate President Emil Jones, D-Chicago.

Voila! Jones called the Senate back to approve the ethics bill, along with Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s broader ethics package. While they were at it, senators approved a $220 million package to restore or prevent budget cuts that also had been in limbo.

Leave it to dysfunctional state government to generate controversy in even the most mundane tasks.

Voters will be asked this fall if they want a convention to meet and revise the state constitution. It’s a question asked just once every 20 years, so it needs to be phrased properly.

That’s what Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn and state Rep. Mike Boland said last week when they criticized as “biased and unfair” the proposed wording of the ballot question.

The problem? The question talks about the outcome of the referendum in 1988. Voters rejected calling a constitutional convention 75 percent to 25 percent. Quinn and Boland say that point is irrelevant.

Secretary of State Jesse White, whose office provides election officials with the ballot question, says he’s taken the question wording directly from lawmakers and would change it if they gave him new language.

Maybe it’d be like asking baseball fans whether the Chicago Cubs should be allowed to advance to the World Series, given that it’s been100 years since they won one.

Or imagine what could be inserted the next time Blagojevich or other unpopular politicians are on the ballot.

Quote of the week

“This is a problem looking for a solution.”

State Sen. Mike Jacobs, D-East Moline, who apparently misspoke during Senate debate Tuesday on Blagojevich’s broader ethics reforms. He was trying to criticize the need for the reforms, which the Senate passed.

Number to Know

26
— and counting — the number of special sessions Blagojevich has called over the past two years, after he called specials on ethics and autism insurance coverage last week.

Coming Up

Wednesday is when new delivery rates take effect for Ameren Illinois. The Illinois Commerce Commission last week approved a $162 million rate hike for most of the utilities’ customers. Ameren said it needs to pay for improvements to ensure reliable delivery of electricity and natural gas.

State Capitol Bureau

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